Groin Stretching

I have a problem with groin stretches. I am not an athelete, but am a meditator. I used to be able to sit in half-lotus position with no discomfort. After a year of sickness when I did not sit this way, I found my groin muscles were very tight, and any attempt to come even close to my former position caused a lot of pain.

I have been attempting to slowly stretch them out again, but after two weeks, I see little sign of improvement. I cannot even sit cross-legged. I attempt to avoid pain in my stretches, but cannot always seem to avoid it. I do not have any injury that I know of, unless I have overstrained the adductor muscles without knowing it.

How should I approach this to get back to my former flexibility? I've been told not to stretch to the point of pain, but I perceive no improvement doing what I am currently doing. I am surprised the progress is so slow. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi xtallman

It is probably important to consider what may have happened over the year of ill health. Were you quite restricted to bed and reclining?

the semi lotus position is an extreme position for the hip joint. You are quite right that you your muscles may have shortened and as you did not adopt this position over an extended period of time your muscles and joints didn't get that extreme challenge in positioning. However it maybe more than just your muscles: the front part of the joint capsule (the fibrous sleeve that holds your ball and socket joint together) may also have tightened. this is important to consider as you may be stretching this rather than your muscles when you adopt the position

Your age is another consideration. With an extended period of inactivity due to illness, at your age degenerative changes of the tissues are more pronounced than in a younger person. A combination of age and illhealth tends to speed up the ageing processes.

There is a potentially vulnerable tissue which you must be very careful not to damage by adopting this posture - the acetabular labrum can tear. Once this has happened it doesn't repair very well. Overzealous stretching could cause such a tear.

When adopting the lotus or semi lotus position it is not just the hip joints that are challenged. the knees, ankle/foot joints, the lumbar spine, sacro illiac region and even the thoracic region all play a role in the ease of adoption of these postures.

As this is something you are really keen to do I would advise you of the following:

• Don't overdo the stretching. To get your tissues to adapt you must be patient and not force them. If not could tear one of your groin muscles or even worse tear the acetabular labrum. Slow gentle sustained stretch that is painless is likely to be more productive.
• When meditating consider how to adapt the position e.g cross legged with cushions under each knee so that you don't have to stretch the muscles and joints so much. It is beyond my scope to tell you about whether you need to adopt this position to enjoy the meditation method you use but it might be worth considering if you can meditate using an adapted or completely different position
• You may have to accept that it may be impossible to get the full mobility you desire. Sorry if that sounds a bit negative and I may not be right on this - but if you don't get much improvement it maybe something you need to accept.
• Get some professional help to guide you with this. What about seeing a PT about it?
• This may be symptomatic of a number of changes in your musculoskeletal system. A thorough musculoskeletal exam that looks and joint and muscle range, muscle strength and endurance and cardiovascular fitness might be helpful followed by a supported fitness programme. This can slow down the ageing process and counter some of the "accelerated ageing that often happens with prolonged illness that happens in your later middle years.

One final suggestion is have you heard of a thing called the Feldenkrais method? This approach seems quite good at addressing these sorts of problems and it is very gentle - no risk of over stretching either

Thanks for your comments, gcoe. The illness did not confine me to bed, although I was definitely less active than before. Your suggestions are very helpful.

Through gentle stretching, I am finally able to sit cross-legged with little pain. That is still quite a ways from half lotus, but I am encouraged that there is at least some signs of improvement now. I will hope for the best, and continue to be gentle.